JPS5829689B2 - Cable jacket connection method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cable jacket connection method that has excellent workability and can enable excellent hydrogen sulfide resistance.

Fig. 1 shows an example of the structure of a connection part of a submarine cable jacket using the conventional heating wire fusion method.

, H+) The ethylene insulated core wire 2 is made of inner layer polyethylene 3a.
, a submarine cable 1 covered with a cable sheath 3 made of a laminated aluminum tape 3b and an outer polyethylene layer 3C is first removed from the cable sheath 3 at its tip and connected to a mating submarine cable (not shown). will be done.

A connection sleeve 5 made of polyethylene having an inlet 21 and an exhaust port (not shown) is placed over the cable connection portion 4 until it overlaps the end of the cable sheath 3.
A polyethylene-coated heating wire 6 is spirally wound between the connection sleeve 5 and the outer polyethylene layer 30 at the end,
The heat generated by energizing the heating wire 6 heats the connection sleeve 5 and the outer polyethylene layer 3c.

Thereafter, the waterproofing mixture is injected into the connecting sleeve using the inlet 21 and the outlet, and the inlet 21 and the outlet are closed by heat-sealing appropriately cut pieces of polyethylene plate.

Then, in order to eliminate the level difference between the connection sleeve 5 and the cable jacket 3, a self-fusing tape 7 is spirally wound around the level difference, and is further applied over the entire top of the connection sleeve 5 and the cable jacket 3 continuous to both ends of the connection sleeve 5. Adhesive aluminum tape 8 is wound in layers.

This adhesive aluminum tape 8 is spirally wound in order to prevent the permeation of hydrogen sulfide into the cable connection part, and a self-fusing tape 9 is used to protect the adhesive aluminum tape 8. pv for protection of 9
c (polyvinyl chloride) tapes 10 are wound one over the other in order.

In this conventional method, the length of the connection sleeve 5 is 1.0 m to 1.8 m, although it varies depending on the diameter of the submarine cable 1.
For example, adhesive aluminum tape 8 of 10 CrIL is applied over the entire connection sleeve 5 as well as over the cable sheath 3 on both sides of connection sleeve 5, with half overlap once and back and forth, and self-fusing tape 9 with half overlap one way and PVC tape. 10 has to be played spirally, half overlapping one way, and taping requires a high level of skill and takes a long time.

Bending radius 50c'rIL for connections made using conventional methods
76CIr from the outside of the connected sample after repeated bending at
Applying He gas pressure with LHg, the He that permeates inside
When the leakage amount was measured with a He leak detector, the initial value was 2.6.
X 10-7 cc/see became 2. after repeated bending 3 times. It increased significantly to 10-6 cc/sec.

It has been found that this is because the adhesive aluminum tape is wound overlappingly, resulting in local variations in the number of turns, and its weak point cracks due to external bending force.

Therefore, in the connection part made by the conventional method, if the cable is subjected to an external bending force by a sheave or the like during cable installation, the adhesive aluminum tape may crack and the hydrogen sulfide resistance may deteriorate significantly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cable jacket connection method that can improve workability and fully satisfy hydrogen sulfide resistance after cable installation. shall be.

The cable jacket connection method of the present invention covers a core wire connection portion of a submarine cable with a connection sleeve having a three-layer structure of inner layer polyethylene, laminated aluminum tape, and outer layer polyethylene and having an inlet and an exhaust port, and then covers the terminal portion of the connection sleeve. On the outer polyethylene layer of the cable jacket and the outer polyethylene layer of the cable jacket, saturated polyester (polyethylene terephthalate, mylar, tetron, terylene, etc.), aluminum, etc. is vapor-deposited on a plastic tape such as nylon,
Furthermore, a composite tape bonded with polyethylene and a dual-purpose metal adhesive is wrapped vertically on top of the composite tape, and heat-fused to a predetermined length of the outer layer polyethylene of both the cable sheath and the connection sleeve, including the vertical section of the composite tape. The adhesive tape is spirally wound, and a heat shrink tube is further covered, and the heat melt adhesive is heat melt bonded to both the outer layer polyethylene of the cable jacket and the connection sleeve, the composite tape, and the heat shrink tube by heating. After that, the waterproof mixture is injected into the connection sleeve using the injection port and the exhaust port, and after blocking the injection port and the exhaust port with the closure member, the waterproof mixture is poured onto the outer polyethylene layer of the connection sleeve near the closure member, including the closure member. A composite tape is placed on the connecting sleeve, and a heat-melt adhesive is wound around a predetermined length of the outer polyethylene layer of the connection sleeve, including on the composite tape, and a heat-shrinkable tube is further covered, and the heat-melt adhesive is applied to the connection sleeve by heating. It is characterized in that it is melt-bonded to the outer polyethylene layer, the composite tape, and the heat shrinkable tube.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on specific examples shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a connection structure of a submarine cable jacket made according to the present invention.

The connection sleeve 11 enclosing the core wire connection part 4 has a three-layer structure consisting of an inner layer of polyethylene 11a, a laminated aluminum tape 11b, and an outer layer of polyethylene 11e, and is preformed to have the same structure as the cable jacket 3. The terminal portion of is tapered.

Furthermore, in order to inject the waterproof mixture 19 around the core wire connection portion 4, an injection port 20 and an exhaust port (not shown) are provided in the connection sleeve 11.

The injection port 20 and the exhaust port are tightly connected with a closing member 15 such as an aluminum screw to prevent leakage of the waterproof mixture 19 after injection.

Further, a composite tape 14 is vertically arranged around the terminal end of the connection sleeve 11 and spans the connection sleeve 11 and the submarine cable 1, and a hot-melt adhesive 13 is spirally wrapped around the composite tape 14. It is rolled up and then a heat shrink tube 12 is placed over it.

On the other hand, also at the inlet 20 (and exhaust port (not shown)) of the connection sleeve 11, the composite tape 16 is spirally wound around the connection sleeve 11 so as to completely cover the periphery of the closure member 15. Wrap this composite tape 16 and apply hot melt adhesive 17 on top of it in the same way as the end portion treatment.
The tube is spirally wound, and a heat shrink tube 18 is placed over it.

As shown in FIG. 3, the composite tape has a thin base material tape 14a made of a plastic material such as saturated polyester that has heat resistance and toughness and has a thickness of 1 to 50 μm, and has a thin base material tape 14a on both sides of which is used to prevent permeation of hydrogen sulfide. A vapor deposited layer 14b of hydrogen sulfide resistant aluminum or the like having a thickness of 0.1 to 50 μm is formed on both sides of the layer 14b, and when assembled as a cable sheath connection part, the cable sheath and connection that the composite tape needs to be integrated with. In order to ensure adhesion with the polyethylene and hot-melt adhesive of the sleeve jacket, we use a maximum of tertiary copolymer, EEA (ethylene ethyl acrylate copolymer) modified material, etc., which has adhesive properties to both metal and polyethylene. Adhesive layer 14c with 100μ door thickness
It has the following.

Further, the heat-shrinkable tubes 12 and 1B may be made of, for example, cross-linked polyethylene, as long as they can be shrunk by heating.

The heat-melting adhesives 13 and 17 are tape-like or sheet-like, and are made of an EEA-modified material or the like, and include the outer polyethylene layers 30 and 118 of the cable sheath 3 and the connection sleeve 11, and the composite tape 14 and 16. Any material may be used as long as it has good heat-melting adhesion to the adhesive copolymer described later, and adding a temperature indicating material improves the workability of the heat-welding work.

Next, the work procedure will be described.

First, a connection sleeve 11 having an inlet 20 and an exhaust port is passed through the submarine cable 1 in advance, and after the wire connection work is completed, the connection sleeve 11 is moved onto the core wire connection section 4.

In this case, the heat shrink tubes 12 and 18 are also connected to the submarine cable 1.
Alternatively, pass it through the connection sleeve 11.

Next, the composite tape 14 is placed vertically around the tapered end of the connection sleeve 11, and
Appropriate pressure is applied using a trowel or the like heated to 50°C to fix it to both outer polyethylene layers 3(!, 11e).

After that, the heat-melted composite tape 14 is fully covered and the heat-melt adhesive 13 containing a temperature indicator is spirally wound on both outer polyethylene layers 3e and 11 (! The shrink tube 12 is placed over the hot melt adhesive 13.

The heat-shrinkable tube 12 is then heated until the temperature indicator added to the hot-melt adhesive 13 changes to a predetermined color, and the hot-melt adhesive 13 is attached to the outer layer polyethylene of the cable jacket 3, the outer layer polyethylene 11c of the connection sleeve 11, The connecting sleeve 11 is integrally fixed to the submarine cable 1 by heat-sealing the composite tape 14 and the heat-shrinkable tube 12 placed thereon.

Thereafter, the waterproof mixture 19 is injected through the injection port 20, and after filling, the injection port 20 and the exhaust port are sealed with a closing member 15 such as an aluminum screw.

The composite tape 16 is spirally wound around the connecting sleeve 11 in the vicinity of the closing member 15 so as to completely cover the closing member 15, and pressurized with a trowel heated to 150° C. to 250° C. as before.
Some parts are fixed to the connection sleeve 11 by heat fusion.

Thereafter, the composite tape 16 on the connection sleeve 11 is sufficiently covered with a hot-melt adhesive 17 containing a temperature indicator, and the heat-shrinkable tube 18 that has been passed through it is placed over this.

The heat shrink tube 18 is then heated until the temperature indicator added to the heat melt adhesive 17 changes to a predetermined color. The hot-melt adhesive 17 is heat-sealed to the outer polyethylene layer 11C of the connection sleeve 11 and the composite tape 16, and the filling and sealing of the waterproof mixture 19 is completed.

According to this cable jacket connection method, the base material of the composite tape is a flexible plastic, and the metal layer is extremely thin, making it flexible, and can be connected with a force as small as the contraction force of a heat shrink tube. It easily adheres to the adhered part, and since its specific heat is small, the temperature of the adhesive interface increases quickly and reliably due to external heat, forming a connection with excellent hydrogen sulfide resistance.

Regarding workability, since the connecting sleeve 11 itself has excellent hydrogen sulfide resistance, in the present invention, the composite tapes 14, 16 and heat are removed only near the end of the connecting sleeve 11, near the injection port 20, and near the exhaust port. It is only necessary to tape the molten adhesives 13 and 17, and there is no need for the process of spirally winding the heating wire 6 and taping the adhesive aluminum tape 8, self-fusing tape 9, and PVC tape 10 over the entire connecting sleeve 5 as in the conventional method. Working time can be significantly reduced.

In other words, taking as an example the JF-LAP submarine cable with 50 pairs of core wires having a core diameter of 0.9 mm, it takes about 2 hours to connect the outer sheath using the conventional method, whereas the outer sheath can be tied in about 1 hour using the connecting method of the present invention. The connection is completed and the time is reduced by about 1/2.

Although aluminum, which has hydrogen sulfide resistance, was selected as the vapor-deposited metal for the composite tape in the above example, the present invention can also be applied to preventing moisture permeation at land cable connections, and in this case, the vapor-deposited metal should be water-resistant. It may be selected arbitrarily with consideration.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cable sheath connection method that can improve workability and fully satisfy hydrogen sulfide resistance after cable installation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a 1/4 sectional view of a connection structure of a submarine cable jacket according to the conventional method, FIG. 2 is a 1/4 sectional view of a connection structure of a submarine cable jacket according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the composite tape used. In the drawings, 1 is a submarine cable, 3 is a cable jacket, 3a is an inner layer polyethylene, 3b is a laminated aluminum tape, 3c is an outer layer polyethylene, 4 is a core wire connection part, 11 is a connection sleeve, 11a is an inner layer polyethylene, and 11b is a laminate. Aluminum tape, 11e is outer layer polyethylene, 12.18 is heat shrink tube, 13, 17 is hot melt adhesive, 14.16 is composite tape, 14a is plastic tape such as saturated polyester, 14b is vapor deposited layer such as aluminum, 14C 1 is a polyethylene/metal adhesive layer, 15 is a closing member, 19 is a waterproof mixture, and 20 is an injection port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Cover the core wire connection part of the submarine cable with a three-layer connecting sleeve of inner layer polyethylene, laminated aluminum tape, and outer layer polyethylene, which has an inlet and an exhaust port.
On the outer polyethylene layer of the terminal part of the connection sleeve and the outer polyethylene layer of the cable jacket, a composite tape is made by vapor-depositing metal on a plastic tape, and then adhering polyethylene and a dual-purpose metal adhesive thereon. Vertical winding of the composite tape involves wrapping hot-melt adhesive in a helical manner on both the outer polyethylene layers of the cable sheath including the section and the connection sleeve, and then covering it with heat-shrinkable tube. , the hot-melt adhesive is melt-bonded to both the outer polyethylene layers of the cable jacket and connection sleeve, the composite tape, and the heat-shrinkable tube using heat from the cutting edge, and then the waterproof mixture is bonded using the inlet and outlet ports. is injected into the connection sleeve, and after blocking the inlet and the exhaust port with a closure member, a composite tape is placed on the outer polyethylene layer of the connection sleeve near the closure member, including on the closure member, and including on the composite tape. A hot-melt adhesive is spirally wound on top of the outer polyethylene layer of the connection sleeve, a heat-shrinkable tube is placed over it, and the hot-melt adhesive is applied to the outer polyethylene layer of the connection sleeve, the composite tape, and the heat-shrinkable tube by heating. A cable jacket connection method characterized by melt-bonding to a tube.